How to Stop Smart TV Tracking and Protect Your Privacy?

Smart TVs are an important part of our households. Aren’t they? They offer the convenience of built-in streaming apps, voice assistants, and whatnot. However, new research reveals that your smart TV might be spying on you or taking screenshots. What? Is my smart TV tracking every moment of my viewing activity? Yes, it could be. If you value your privacy, it is time to reconsider your choice of entertainment device.

Your Smart TV Is Taking Snapshots and Tracking Your Activity

According to the latest study, major smart TV brands, including Samsung and LG, use a technology called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to monitor everything you watch. This technology captures periodic snapshots of what’s on your TV screen, analyzes the content, and sends it back to company servers. Afterward, the data is used to serve you hyper-targeted ads based on your viewing habits. For instance, Samsung’s Tizen OS takes a screenshot every half a second. Similarly, LG’s WebOS captures every 10 milliseconds. Even if you’re using external gadgets like a gaming console, ACR tracks your activity.

Is ACR a Problem?

ACR functions like a surveillance tool for your entertainment. It works just like Shazam, however, for visual content. It creates a detailed profile of your preferences. After some time, this results in increasingly intrusive targeted advertising that follows you across various platforms. What’s more alarming, you can’t entirely stop this tracking even if you adjust your smart TV’s settings. Moreover, smart TVs continue tracking even when in “dumb mode” via HDMI. It further raises concerns about how much control you truly have over your data.

How to Limit Smart TV Tracking?

You can take certain steps to reduce the level of tracking on your smart TV. Here’s how you can adjust your settings:

• For Samsung TVs:
  • Disable “I consent to viewing information services”
  • Disable interest-based ads and customization services
  • Enable “Do Not Track” and disable personalized ads
  • Turn off special offers and news notifications
• For LG TVs:
  • Enable “Limit ad tracking”
  • Disable viewing information, voice info, and interest-based ads
  • Opt out of marketing communications and personalized content recommendations

Note that these settings may not completely stop data collection. The most practical way to protect your privacy is to disconnect your smart TV from the internet and use an external streaming device instead. Devices like Roku or Amazon Fire TV don’t depend on invasive tracking mechanisms like ACR. If possible, think of switching back to a “dumb” TV, where you control the content without sacrificing your privacy.

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